The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) conducted a 5-day training course on Research Design, Statistical Data Analysis and Interpretation recently.
Led by PCAARRD’s Livestock Research Division (LRD), in collaboration with the Animal and Dairy Sciences Cluster of the College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baños (ADSC-CA, UPLB), the training was held at the PCAARRD Headquarters.
The training course which was attended by twenty-two participants from different government research institutions and state colleges and universities nationwide was the fourth training on the said topic conducted by the Council.
With designing statistical procedures as one significant aspect of proposal writing commonly observed to be a challenge, the training provided livestock and poultry researchers a working knowledge on employing appropriate experimental designs and sound statistical tools in any animal science or veterinary research undertakings.
The course was a combination of training techniques such as personalized coaching, laymanizing technical topics and citing applied examples. These techniques made the course learner friendly and light particularly in the use of common excel tools for computation and analysis of statistical data.
The training course was designed to meet the technical needs of researchers in the livestock and poultry commodities in crafting research studies that will appropriately address the needs of both sectors.
Dr. Edwin C. Villar, LRD Director, stressed the importance of regular consultations with stakeholders in identifying S&T gaps and desired outcomes which will address pressing industry problems.
Dr. Synan S. Baguio, LRD Assistant Director, on the other hand, presented LRD’s Industry Strategic S&T Plans (ISPs) for each livestock and poultry commodity.
“R&D initiatives should be focused and research methods must be designed appropriately to come up with statistically sound conclusions,” Dr. Baguio stressed.
Dr. Baguio was confident that through the training course, livestock and poultry researchers will be better skilled in formulating experimental designs and statistical tools that will generate sound, valid and relevant R&D results for the livestock and poultry industries.
For the past four summer breaks, LRD-PCAARRD has been conducting the same training in partnership with ADSC-CA, UPLB. The trainings were attended mostly by animal science and veterinary researchers.
Capability building, one of PCAARRD banner programs, plays a crucial role in ensuring that livestock and poultry researchers are abreast with current knowledge and information relevant to the needs of the industries. The need for continuous retooling of researchers in these industries is therefore necessary.
The training on Research Design, Statistical Data Analysis and Interpretation is one of the many undertakings of the Council in meeting the challenge of DOST’s Outcome One which is to provide science-based know-how and tools that enable the agricultural sector to raise productivity to world-class standards.
PCAARRD’s R&D gains shall once more be featured during this year’s celebration of the National Science and Technology Week (NSTW).
With the theme: Philippines: A Science Nation Meeting Global Challenges, the NSTW will epitomize DOST’s concerted efforts of addressing poverty alleviation and pursuing economic development through science and technology.
Joining other councils, institutes, and offices of the Department of Science and Technology on July 24-28, at SM Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, PCAARRD shall showcase its effort and that of its partners in achieving economic development through various science and technology initiatives to raise agricultural productivity to world-class standards.